It did not take very long for an NFL player to play a dumb-ass game with the NFL’s domestic violence policy. Less than a week, really. In case you haven’t heard, the NFL has just come out with a tough policy in regard to domestic violence. It was about time and in fact, it was overdue. For many years issues such as domestic violence were swept under the rug because the players were somehow viewed as tough guys playing a tough sport – and it somehow provided an excuse. There […]

Aldon Smith, OL for the San Francisco 49ers, received the news today that the league was going to suspend him for 9 games and he will lose approximately half of his annual salary. We will not hop on the bandwagon of disgruntled fans and analysts who feel his penalty was too harsh. We will take the side of those who believe Aldon Smith is lucky as hell. Let me take it out of sports completely, and let’s say you have just landed the best job of your career with a […]

Everyone wants a good sports story, and no one wants it more than us. We are all about sports ethics programs for athletes and we applaud athletes, teams, coaches and association executives whenever they display good ethical behavior. A few days ago, a tremendous story of personal responsibility and exceptional ethics surfaced in regard to Josh Shaw. The original story had it that he was looking out from his motel window to the pool area when he saw his 9 year-old nephew thrashing about in the water. He knew the […]

USA TODAY writer Chris Chase reported this morning (August 27, 2014) about an apology made by ESPN in regard to Michael Sam. The piece, entitled: “ESPN apologizes for report on Michael Sam’s showering habits,” states as follows: “ESPN apologized Wednesday for a SportsCenter report by Josina Anderson that detailed the showering habits of defensive end Michael Sam.”’ESPN regrets the manner in which we presented our report. Clearly yesterday we collectively failed to meet the standards we have set in reporting on LGBT-related topics in sports.’” Ms. Anderson was doing a […]

Poor ethical behavior can occur most anywhere in sports; it is equal in its ability to invade any program, men’s or women’s, any sport and any division. Our contention is that poor ethical choices creep into a program when solid sports ethics training is absent. On August 20, 2014, a press conference was held at the University of New Mexico with vice president of athletics Paul Krebs and Women’s head soccer coach Kit Vela. Paul Krebs made the following statement: “We failed the young women of our soccer program who […]

Matt Prater, Denver Broncos kicker, just received a four game suspension by the NFL. He has Harvey Steinberg, his lawyer to thank – the suspension might have been for a full year. To understand the case, we have to go back to August 2011, when Prater was busted for a DUI in Michigan. As an active NFL player (he has been with the Broncos since 2008), he was put into the substance abuse program and prohibited from drinking alcohol. This punishment applies in cases where a DUI is involved. Before […]

Why Sports Ethics? Why do we do what we do and why do we hope athletes listen? Oklahoma has just suspended Joe Mixon from the team. Mixon, a promising running back has been alleged to have punched a woman so hard that he broke four bones in her face. The university did its own investigation and after investigating they had heard enough. Mixon is suspended for the entire season. Before anyone cries foul at us and tells us that Mixon was the victim, not the woman whose face was punched in, “blame” […]

The headlines blared last night: “Las Vegas spoils Mo’ne’s night, beats Philly 8-1.” The headlines are wrong. Mo’ne is a 13 year old and she is part of a team, and I’m pretty sure she doesn’t play every position on the field. The night was spoiled for the entire team and in case no one noticed, she is still a kid. What is wrong with this picture is not Mo’ne. What is wrong with this picture is that the adults are acting like kids and the kids are acting like […]

Tim Daniels, columnist for the Bleacher Report (August 19, 2014) wrote an interesting article that really puts an ethical spotlight on the power of sports and where we may be heading. The article, entitled: “NFL Reportedly Asking Potential Super Bowl Halftime Acts to Pay to Perform,” states: “The NFL has narrowed down the list of potential performers for the 2015 Super Bowl to three candidates: Rihanna, Katy Perry, and Coldplay, these people said. While notifying the artists’ camps of their candidacy, league representatives also asked at least some of the […]

“Realizing that there could be the slightest doubt that the swing over the ball should have been recorded as a stroke, I spoke with the PGA of America and shared with them my conclusion that the stroke should have been recorded.” It was with great interest that I read a Bleacher Report article by Tyler Conway (August 17, 2014) on golfer Cameron Tringale entitled, “Cameron Tringale Confesses to PGA Championship Error, Loses More Than $50, 000.” According to the article: “Tringale, 26, claims to have missed a stroke when attempting […]